Monday, May 26, 2008

By John CheeranEven in the era of globalization it is baffling that Indian society pays its fealty to feudal symbols. Take the much fashionable Twenty20 Indian Premier League for example.Fifty per cent of the IPL teams have the royalty tag stuck to them.Out of the eights teams, four are branded as Rajasthan Royals, King’s XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore Royal Challenge.Three teams somehow owing to certain compulsions had chosen differently. Deccan Chargers (Deccan Chronicle group, the owners wanted the team to mirror their DC image, so the name Chargers, though they were lacking and leaking charge desperately), Delhi Dare Devils (If Delhi had to embrace royalty, they should have named it Mughal Magicians or Marauders but that is not the politically correct thing to do in these surcharged times) and Kolkata Knight Riders. I’m yet to figure out who does the Knight, SRK, ride in Kolkata?But then if you consider the fact when owner himself is a King, as in the case of Shah Rukh Khan, there is no desperation to call your side King’s Mutton Korma or anything like that.I believe SRK has been referred to and revered as the King Khan by cricket and film journalists, even though SRK has become a banished king these days. (Well, is there any difference between film and cricket journalists when actress Lekha Washington is doing live reporting for Sony Max’s Xtra Innings?)

The only franchise that has branded their side with a modern name is Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai Indians. And considering Ambani family’s plebian heritage it is no surprise that Mukesh chose not to have a silly royal tag for his franchise. And the brand name of Mumbai Indians, though the city’s cosmopolitan fabric is frayed under the onslaught of various centrifugal forces, has tried to capture the essence of modern India, melding nationalism with a feel for your inner city.Yes, the past must be remembered but not necessarily glorified without any sense of history.

About Me

John Cheeran is an engineer-turned-journalist and has worked in such diverse media as Print, Internet and Radio. Cheeran has an abiding interest in cricket and its politics, and in politics in general.
Cheeran quit an Indian arm of the US-based global giants General Electric in 1994 to join Asian College of Journalism. He then went on to write on sports, and mainly on cricket, for newspapers such as The Indian Express, The Asian Age, The Pioneer and www.timesofindia.com in India. Cheeran also had a seven-year stint with Gulf News in Dubai.
He also wrote regularly for regional publications including Malayala Manorama and Deshabhimani during his student days.
During his career, Cheeran has reported a string of national and international tournaments including the 1999 Cricket World Cup held in England, the annual Dubai Desert Classic Golf Championship and Dubai Tennis Championship in Dubai, the ICC Champions Trophy in Dhaka, the Independence Cup Cricket Championship in India, Asian Test Championship and a number of Davis Cup ties in India. Now, Cheeran is an adjunct faculty at Online Media Centre in Chennai.